1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a crating system, and in particular, to an apparatus for storing, transporting and delivering conveyor belts.
2. Description of Related Art
Conveyor belt systems are commonly used in various industrial fields for material handling and processing purposes. For instance, conveyor systems are used within food processing systems in which food items are placed on the support surface of a conveyor belt and processed, while being conveyed from one location to another. Various types of conveyor belts exist, including modular conveyor belts, which are especially popular in food processing systems. Moreover, conveyor systems are often used in a helical accumulator such as that disclose in U.S. Pat. No. 5,070,999 to Layne et al. which allows storage of a large number of items in the conveyor system.
Such conveyor belts are often very long, extending hundreds or even thousands of feet. To handle such voluminous belts in transit, storage and dispensation, crates of various sorts are used. Conventional crates are typically large, basic four-sided wooden boxes with fixed lengths and widths, as shown in FIG. 1A. In order to pack, for example, a self-stacking spiral belt into such a crate, the belt must be disassembled into short, flat sections, which are then stacked in the crate, such as in FIG. 1B and FIG. 1C. As shown in FIG. 1C, conventional crate system 100 comprised of housing 110 has disassembled belt sections 120a-c stacked therein, with side plates separating adjacent disassembled belt sections. For example, disassembled belt section 120a has side plates 125a and 125b, of which side plate 125b separates it from disassembled belt section 120b. Once the belt reaches its destination, it must be then reassembled and spliced between the separate sections. In food processing facilities with small passageways and sparse open area, for example, the large, voluminous crates are often disassembled elsewhere, and one section of belt at a time is transported to the point of installation.
In addition, because conveyor belts may vary in length and width, different sizes and multiple numbers of these conventional crates are needed to ship the belts. This requires that belt manufacturers keep a large quantity of crates on hand in many different sizes to accommodate orders for their various belt sizes. Thus, the storage of unused crates can occupy large portions of manufacturing space, adding to overhead and shipping costs that are eventually passed along to cost-conscious customers.
Other containers are known in which material can be transported in a roll, without disassembly into flat sections. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,184,053 to Eldridge discloses a combination shipping, storage and dispensing container for coiled material where the coil is mounted within the container, such that it is completely suspended without any of its sides or edges touching the inner sides of the container. The patent to Eldridge discloses a four-sided box blank with a fixed core member around which the stored material coils, and a pair of cup members at either end of the core member that are fixably attached to the container. However, this patent requires that a regular slotted carton be used, preferably made of corrugated box material. In addition, the horizontal suspension of material on the core member places stress on the container throughout shipping and storage process. Thus, the patent to Eldridge is limited as to the types and weights of materials that can be shipped and stored.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,122 to McCord et al. discloses a palletless packaging system having end plates with vertical channels that accommodate a core of rolled goods. However, the system is lightweight, recyclable and contains little to no wood. Further, the core of rolled goods must be lowered into the vertical channel. Thus, the patent to McCord et al. is only suitable for the packaging of light materials, such as fabric, thin film, or wiring. In addition, the loading and unloading of the core material by removal through the vertical channel is time and energy consuming, due to the additional space and tools needed to properly handle the material.